Development of photovoltaic systems for insect pest management

Project details

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CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Objective

Photovoltaics have been incorporated into many applications, but, so far, have not been used to power insect pest control systems to protect a specific facility against harmful insects. The main objective of the project is to develop prototype stand alone PV powered electrocuting light traps for insect pest control in remote areas.

Specific objectives are: a) Identification and verification of optimized configurations and placement of individual electrocuting light trap units in a greenhouse, stable, camping and lucerne plantation to control specific kinds of insects harmful to human beings, animals and crops, considering cost effective design and high power utilization, and b) development of guide lines, specifications for complete PV powered electrocuting light traps as well as for their key components and recommendations for their most effective operation. It is expected that these electrocuting light traps, as part of an integrated insect pest management system, will reduce the population of different kinds of harmful insects to a tolerable level, below the economic threshold, thus avoiding extensive use of insecticides. In Europe and developing countries there is a promising field for application of these systems and especially in facilities like stables, campgrounds, protected crops as well as open plantations where there is no electricity network and the use of insecticides is extensive.